


christmas is a time for family (and for naps while someone else takes care of the kids)

by driedupwishes



Series: we are family [3]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/F, Family Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Sleepy Cuddles, Snuggle Husbands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 08:55:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5620942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/driedupwishes/pseuds/driedupwishes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The second presents are done Eren’s getting a goddamn nap, with his husband, on his couch. He deserves this, he decides. He, much like his son and little girl, has been good this year. Santa owes him, dammit. And all it takes is one look at Levi, already half dozing on the couch, to know his husband agrees.</p>
            </blockquote>





	christmas is a time for family (and for naps while someone else takes care of the kids)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [treeofworlds](https://archiveofourown.org/users/treeofworlds/gifts).



“And that,” Eren said, standing up from the couch with the kind of self satisfaction that was more than a little cruel, “was the last present.”

Dimitri’s noise of protest and utter disappointment was drowned out almost completely by Levi’s warm bark of laughter. Eren grinned at his husband while the crowded living room around them rolled their eyes at the display of domestic affection; married for more than half a decade and still making eyes at one another, they were the bane of everyone’s good holiday cheer. Levi grinned back, eyes so warm they made Eren’s chest ignite like he was on fire.

“Sorry, little dude,” Eren said, sparing a glance at his son’s pouty lower lip as he leant down to ruffle Dimitri’s messy hair into an every messier cowlick. The little boy squeaked, ducking out of reach and pushing, gently, against the side of Eren’s leg in a teasing protest, and Eren huffed a little laugh again.

“All good things must end though,” Eren continued, lips curling until his cheeks hurt. Kuchel, on the loveseat next to Eren’s own mother, snorted.

“Try to enjoy your son’s misery a little less, son-in-law,” the dark haired woman laughed quietly. Eren wanted to ignore her, but he glanced her way anyway, because tucked between her and Eren’s mother was his and Levi’s daughter. The sight made his heart twitch with fondness and something of his expression must have given it away, because Isabel, tucked on the floor in front of the loveseat, waggled her eyebrows at him with a snicker. He turned from the sight, ignoring her and stretching as he did so, to instead eye the couch he had vacated and the two people on it. On one end his husband sat, curled up and sleepy eyed, gorgeous as could be, and on the other end, with the spot Eren had been sitting empty between them, sat Annie.

“Excuse me,” Eren said to her politely. She cocked an eyebrow at him in amusement, her old tacky Christmas sweater so worn out that the collar hung to show off one pale shoulder. He bent over and scooped her up, his back aching a little in protest, and with a huff of a laugh she slung her arms around his shoulders and allowed him to lift her from the couch. It took a few seconds of praying he wouldn’t drop her on Dimitri, but he managed to ease down and drop the blonde in Mikasa’s lap without a tragedy happening, both women snorting as they curled together again at Dimitri’s side. Satisfied with his work and the couch’s semi-unoccupied status, Eren then turned to his husband.

“If you put me on the floor, I’m returning your Christmas presents,” Levi muttered, stretching a little bit until his legs were almost extended all the way out. Eren grinned at him, a wide expression that curled and bordered on a leer as he hunched over, looming predatory regardless of their extended family all around, watching Levi as he curled his hand loosely around Levi’s ankle and pulled. His husband went from being vaguely tucked into the corner of their couch to on his back in a second and the sight of him sprawled was inviting and familiar, spending shivers down Eren’s spine. Eren took the opportunity to press his knee against the edge of the couch and crawl on top of his husband, dropping down to lay on top of Levi as the man trembled with a laugh that was as bright and warm as the lights tangled around their front porch.

“Oh come _on_ ,” Isabel heckled, sounding as if she was aiming to throw something at them. Eren certainly hoped not, because then he might have to retaliate and now that he had his face pressed comfortably against the crook of Levi’s neck he wasn’t planning on doing _anything_ but napping. Levi wrapped his arms around Eren’s back, shaking faintly with laughter as Eren shamelessly snuggled into him, and when Eren was as comfortable as he could possibly be he closed his eyes and sighed happily.

“Goodnight all,” he told the living room at nine thirty on Christmas morning. “It was nice spending this time with you.”

Levi’s laughter made it hard to even pretend he was sleeping, because it shook his whole body like an earthquake, but Eren didn’t mind. “I love you,” Levi muttered quietly, pressing a kiss against the top of Eren’s head gently. “I love you so much, Jesus Christ, Eren.”

“Are all dads as gross as mine,” Dimitri wondered loudly. He sounded like he was still possibly sulking over the lack of presents there were to open, now that he’d torn through all of his and some of his sister’s. Eren peeked open an eye to glare at his kid, who was looking to his grandmothers and aunts for support in this trying time. Eren’s mother was bursting at the seams with the need to laugh, but Kuchel merely raised an eyebrow and smirked at little down at the four year old on the floor.

“No, baby boy,” Kuchel answered softly, “not all dads are as ridiculous and affectionate as yours. You and your sister lucked out, it seems.”

“Bleck,” Dimitri said eloquently. Mikasa and Annie snorted quietly together as the little boy glanced at where Eren was draped on top of Levi. He made eye contact with Eren for a second before pointedly rolling his little eyes, something he’d picked up from _every_ member of his family most likely, before ducking down over his DS in his lap to play his new Pokemon game.

“Mom,” Levi laughed, wiggling down so that he was more comfortable. Eren shifted to let him, resisting the urge to press his leg further in between Levi’s, because while he might be good to shamelessly cuddle his husband after a long and exhausting Christmas morning, some things were better left to the bedroom. “You’re in charge while we nap, okay? Don’t let Dimitri argue his way into any sweets before lunch.”

Kuchel huffed, shaking her head fondly. “This isn’t my first rodeo, son,” she muttered dryly. “I think I can keep everything in order until you wake up.”

“So tiring, huh,” Mikasa teased, like she wasn’t dozing off on the living room floor tucked against Annie. Isabel was probably the only one still just as fully awake and rearing to go as Dimitri was, at this point. The thought disgusted Eren. “Is being Santa’s helpers really so hard?”

“ _God, yes_ ,” Eren and Levi groaned together. The room exploded into laughter, loud and warm, the very definition of Christmas to Eren, and he closed his eyes to savor the feeling of the people he called family enjoying themselves while his husband’s heart beat safe and steady under his ear. He dozed off like that within minutes, having stayed up with Levi until nearly four in the morning rushing to get the living room ready in the name of Santa Claus. It hadn’t helped that they had been woken up at six by their excitable son for presents, either, and while he’d once been able to run on two hours of sleep with ease, his college days were well behind him now. And he slept on, well into the morning and early afternoon, unaware of the world around him until he woke, slowly, to the sensation of a hand dragging lazily through his hair.

“Shhh,” Levi murmured softly, breath tickling the shell of Eren’s ear until he couldn’t help but gasp and squirm a little. Levi’s laughter was a warm, tickling response that Eren felt as his husband tipped his head and pressed his lips against Eren’s neck, kissing his pulse in a way that made Eren’s toes curl. His chest trembled with the echo of Levi’s laughter, with the thump of his heart matching his husband’s, and for a moment the rest of the world didn’t exist; there was just Levi, warm and close with one hand tucked under the back of Eren’s shirt, kissing his neck while his other hand dragged through Eren’s hair, nails ghosting along Eren’s scalp.

“Mhm,” Eren mumbled, nuzzling against Levi as he tried to hazily figure out how they’d twisted around on the couch like this. He very distinctly remembered falling asleep on _top_ of Levi, but here was, wedged between Levi and the back of the couch with his husband on top. He wasn’t _protesting_ , god no, but it still amazed him sometimes, how much of a cuddle monster his husband was and how skilled he was at getting them into prime cuddling spots without either of them falling off the couch. He smiled at the thought and kissed Levi, lips tracing over his husband’s jaw gently. “Hello husband.”

“Hello to _you_ , husband,” Levi nearly purred back. “Sleep well?”

Eren finally opened his eyes, prepared to squint only to find out that someone had turned off the living room lights, leaving only the faint winter sunlight and the tree to light the room. He found Levi smiling at him when he blinked, his dark hair messy and sticking up in curling licks. He was beautiful. He was _gorgeous_. He was smiling, faintly, in the corner of his lovely mouth, eyes glittering like twinkling lights on their lovingly put up plastic tree.

“I love you,” Eren breathed, leaning forward as he wound sleep numb arms around Levi’s lithe frame, curling his fingers in his love’s t-shirt. Levi’s expression went soft and fond and he shifted, brushing their noses together as he pressed in to kiss the corner of Eren’s mouth, breathing the words against Eren’s lips back at him.

“Oh,” a tiny voice said, somewhere nearby, distracted and unsurprised. “ _Dad and Papa are awake!_ ”

Levi groaned against Eren’s mouth, pulling back a little, but Eren wasn’t having it. He dragged his husband back into a kiss, licking into his mouth as Levi laughed and kissed him back. There was a scoff in the background before, supposedly, their son went back to his toys. Eren would have rolled his eyes if he wasn’t so busy dragging his hands up his husband’s spine and kissing him with such an intensity that they were in real danger of rolling off the couch.

“ _Oh good_ ,” Kuchel shouted back, sounding like she was in the kitchen. Maybe. Or something. “ _Eren! Levi! Get up, we could use your help with dinner!_ ”

“Dammit,” Eren growled, letting Levi pull back this time. He kept his hands pressed warm against the slope of Levi’s spine though, just in case his husband fell off the couch. (Couldn’t let that happen, after all, what kind of husband lets their husband fall off the couch? Not Eren, that was for sure.) Levi seemed to expect that too, because he leaned back, over the edge of the couch, trusting Eren to keep him steady and not let him fall to the floor as he twisted to take in the room. Eren glanced at it briefly, still covered in torn wrapping paper and lazily sorted unwrapped presents, before letting his eyes find their son with familiarity.

Dimitri sat curled up on the loveseat, still bent over his DS, probably still avidly playing Pokemon. His hair had been brushed at some point, which meant Eren’s mother had gotten a hold of him, but he was still in last night’s pajamas, wearing one of Levi’s old holiday sweatshirts with the sleeves rolled up. Adrienne’s blanket was at his knee, but his little sister was nowhere to be found, the realization of which made Eren’s heart clench a little in worry. One of the girls probably had her, he knew, but it was still uneasy, not being able to see her.

“Ratted out by our own son,” Levi muttered, just loud enough that Dimitri twitched to hide his face, and his laughter, behind the red DS in his hands. Eren shook his head, making a loud noise of mock disgust in his throat as Levi shifted at his side. Eren shifted to accommodate him, wriggling to let his husband slide to sit in the v of Eren’s legs, even if it meant letting his hands slide from under Levi’s shirt. Levi sent him a Look, eyebrows arched in a silent come on, but Eren wasn’t ready to give up the goose yet.

“Aunt Izzy’s got Adrienne,” Dimitri informed them without having to be asked. Eren probably should have been embarrassed that his four year old son was aware of what paranoid nutcases his dads were, but he wasn’t. He relaxed a little, watching Levi’s shoulders slump with silent relief as well.

“How’s the game,” Levi asked quietly, a small fond smile curling his lips as Eren watched. Dimitri picked his head up from behind the DS, peering at them with bright clear eyes.

“I caught three Pikachu,” he informed them pointedly. Eren tried really hard not to laugh. “So. It’s good.”

“Good to hear, bud,” Eren murmured. He dragged a hand over his face, rubbing at his eyes to try to get the last of the grit out of the corners, and when he dropped his hand he found Levi looking at him, warm and perfect and soft in the easy lighting of their quiet living room. And even thought they’d been married half a decade, even though they’d been in love nearly seven years and dating just as long, Eren found himself flushing under that look, his heart swooping to lodge in his throat, where he swallowed around it roughly.

“Hey,” Eren said thickly. “You know you still have birthday presents to open, right?”

Levi scrunched up his nose and shook his head, cheeks dusting with a hazy shade of pink that made Eren want to sit up and kiss him. Levi turned, curling carefully until he was sitting cross legged with his knees resting on Eren’s thighs, which let him lean forward at the perfect height to press a kiss right over Eren’s heart, which is what he did. Eren loved him so much it felt like his chest was caving it.

“I told you I didn’t need birthday presents,” Levi muttered, still bent, oh so flexible, over Eren. Eren shuddered at the position and Levi grinned at him, hands sliding against Eren’s sides softly, lovingly.

“And _I_ told _you_ ,” Eren responded, “that you were getting them anyway. Besides, try telling that to your mom; she was dead set on making you a cake this year, especially after you wriggled out of getting one last year, birthday boy.”

“I’m not the one who knocked it to the floor,” Levi snorted. He tapped his fingers against Eren’s hipbones and Eren laughed, shifting, stretching and rolling his neck as he did so, cheeks hurting as he realized he was grinning.

“You trip once and drop a cake and no one lets you forget about it, huh?”

“Nope,” Dimitri interjected, probably to remind them he was still there. Eren rolled his eyes and Levi answered the expression with an arched, amused eyebrow, but his lips curled as well. Eren reveled in it, his husband smiling so easily, so freely, just like he always did. God the journey it’d been, getting to this stage.

“Grandma already said that if you try to carry the cake this year she’s going to smack you into the new year early, Dad.”

“Yikes,” Eren said. There was the faintest sound of laughter from the kitchen, proving their audience had a larger population than just their four year old son. Ah, the joys of having family over for the holidays, Eren though fondly. “Thanks for the warning, squirt.”

“No problem,” their kid answered softly. There was definitely laughter in the other room now, soft like his mother’s. A snort, maybe Isabel’s. He didn’t care enough to listen properly, not when Levi was curling his fingers in the front of Eren’s shirt and tugging at him, mouth inviting and eyes wicked.

Eren wasn’t sure he could do it at first, but it helped, to have Levi holding his legs down, levering him, and in a rush he sat up without the use of his arms like he was twenty again, the muscles in his abdominal straining with the effort. Levi’s hands slid from his sides as he sat up, coming up to cradle Eren’s face as Eren rocked forward, his dark haired husband rocking back for a second before he met him for a kiss, lips brushing sweetly as they shared smiles.

“C’mon,” Levi muttered, fingertips brushing Eren’s pulse as he ghosted his hand down, until it was pressing over Eren’s heart. “Let’s get up and be adults, love.”

Eren wrinkled his nose, curling his arms around Levi’s hips and holding him loosely for a moment. He wouldn’t have traded this life for anything, but goddamn if he didn’t want to move from this spot and give up this moment. “I guess if we have to,” he sighed, but Levi made no move to stand up and neither did he.

(“Oh my _god_ ,” Isabel said in the other room. “Adrienne, baby, do us all a favor; don’t grow up to be your dads. They’re impossible.”

“Leave them be, Isabel,” Kuchel responded faintly. “It’s Christmas.”)

“We’ll do presents after dinner,” Levi said softly. His forehead was pressed against Eren’s, his hair tickling Eren’s cheeks, and Eren basked in it, in Levi’s closeness, in their noses brushing and their breaths mingling. He loved this. He loved Levi.

“Okay,” Eren agreed. And then, like an adult, he let his husband climb out of his lap and followed him into the kitchen, where he accepted the awake but still blissfully unfussy infant that was their daughter from his sister-in-law. Relieved of her babysitting duty Isabel wandered into the living room, talking to Dimitri in an easy quiet voice, and Eren watched her go as he settled to sit on the edge of the dining table. Levi, meanwhile, went into the kitchen proper, where Eren’s mother and Kuchel were working, side by side with their hair tied up and out of the way. When they smiled Eren could see their crow’s-feet, their laugh lines, and he felt contentment bubble and burst within his chest.

“Annie and Mikasa went for their annual walk,” Eren’s mother laughed, as Levi rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands without being told. Christmas music was playing faintly from their small old little iPod speaker and Levi started to hum as he nodded in response, turning off the faucet and drying his hands before moving to help their mothers finish up Christmas dinner.

“Hey babe,” Eren called. Adrienne patted one little hand against his cheek and he ducked to kiss her head gently, smiling when she giggled at him. Levi glanced over and smiled at him too, beautiful and wonderful and good and-

“Merry Christmas, Levi,” he said, eyes locked with his husband’s. “I love you.”

Levi snorted, ducking his head to hide pink cheeks, but his eyes stayed pinned on Eren. “Merry Christmas, Eren. I love you too.”

“Happy Birthday too,” Eren added cheekily, grinning. Levi barked a laugh and Adrienne twisted in Eren’s arms, trying to find him, giggling with eyes like stormy clouds as Eren shifted her to let her see Levi.

“Yeah,” Dimitri added, shouting from the living room. “Happy Birthday!”

“Happy Birthday, big bro!”

Levi rolled his eyes, flushing now all the way to his ears, and with a huff he marched into the dining room and over to Eren. Adrienne squeaked, excited to see her Papa, and with a hum he leaned forward, kissing her head the same way Eren had as she reached up to pat at his cheeks and nose. Then, having to rise on his tiptoes to do so, Levi pressed a sound kiss to Eren’s lips, which Eren leaned into without shame.

“Stop being so handsome and distracting,” Levi whispered. Eren grinned at him because he couldn’t help it, not when he was bursting with how happy and content and in love he was, in this moment the way he had been for so many years now.

“I will when you will, husband of mine.”

Levi laughed and all was right with the world.

**Author's Note:**

> christmas fic present for my boo!!! little late to the ao3 upload tho, yikes. oh well, I hope you all had great christmases and happy new years!!!
> 
> and I hope you enjoyed this as well!


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